Wednesday, December 26, 2007

I do hope that everyone had an enjoyable Christmas. My kids sure did!! We had a great time yesterday with family and friends. We ended the day with a movie... the new National Treasure movie. Absolutely loved it!

I'm on vacation this week so I have high hopes to get some cards done and some swaps done and maybe some samples for my LSS. I am now on the Design Team for my LSS and I am so thankful for that and am looking forward to teaching classes!!

Anyway, so today I successfully stay in my pajamas all day! Whooo-hooo!!! I have wanted a pajama day for a long time now. I sat down and only managed to get a couple of cards made. I was perusing the pages of the new Stampin' Up! catalog (love it!) and I saw the cutest card in there and just had to make it. Of course, I didn't have the decorative paper on hand that was used in the sample, so I used some this yummy Tres Jolie paper I had picked up awhile back when my friend and I went to Recollections. I'm sure you've seen the paper before. But this is the card. I hope you like it!

As you can see, Santa didn't bring me a new camera for Christmas. Oh well, maybe some other time. OK the card... I used SU! Be Happy stamp set, apricot appeal & very vanilla card stock, Adorable Paisley and "Baby" (Boy) Clover Tres Jolie paper by My Minds Eye, mellow moss and apricot appeal stampin' pads, ivory ribbon and SU! scallop punch. The one in the catalog is really cute and I liked my take on the sample, too. I hope you do, too.

What's your favorite holiday goodie to make and share? Handmade cards and orange-cranberry bread. I love to make Banana Nut roll, but it's too time consuming.

What's your favorite Christmas song? I have so many, but I think my top 5 are: I Want a Hippotamus for Christmas, Jingle Bell Rock (Jimmy somebody), Feliz Navidad (Jose Feliciano), The Christmas Song (Nat King Cole), and a song by the Carpenters that I don't know what it's called. Oh! One more... Have a Holly Jolly Christmas (Burl Ives). Yes, I love the old ones!!!

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes, we open one gift.

Is there a special ornament or Christmas decoration that you wouldn't feel like Christmas without? Hmmm - I guess it would have to be the ornaments my sister has given me.

Do you take neighbor gifts/treats to anyone, everyone, a select few? A select few of neighbors.

Is your big meal on Christmas Eve, Christmas morning or Christmas afternoon? I guess Christmas afternoon. But what I would give to have one more Christmas morning at Grandma & Grandpa's house!

How do you decorate your tree? Hubby and the kids do it. I hand out the ornaments. And we listen to Nat King Cole.

Snow? Love it? Dread it? Tolerate it? Love it for the first one, tolerate it after that, dread the ice storms.

Do you remember a favorite gift? My most favorite gift was a blow dryer my sister gave me when I was young.

Do you have a family get-together during the holidays with extended family? Yes, my in-laws.

What's the most important thing that you must do each Christmas season? Drive around to see the "pretty lights."

Do you bake Christmas cookies? Sometimes.

Do you leave cookies and milk for Santa? Yes

Share a favorite Christmas memory. Going to Grandma & Grandpa's house. All the kids running around having a great time. Tons and tons of family all over the place and Grandma's cooking!

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Hi all! I hope your Thanksgiving was good. I've been busy with swaps and recipe cards and such.

I entered a card contest that Page Maps was hosting. I didn't win, but I am just proud of me that I tried. I usually chicken out. Like, I was working on submitting my work to be on a design team and I stopped. I chickened out.

This is the card I made for the contest. If you'd like to see the winners, go to Page Maps, the link is listed in my favorites. I hope you like my card. I used Basic Grey paper as my base. I used Sage Shadow to compliment the beautiful paper. The gorgeous "medallion" stamp is a new See D's stamp I just got. My sentiment is from Everyday Flexible Phrases - it's tiny, but I liked it.

I also used my Christmas Village my hubby gave me a few years ago to stage my card. I thought it looked pretty.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

I am hosting a monthly card swap that has been a lot of fun and a little challenging. Each person in the group is given a month they host. They supply each of the participants with stamped images and decorative paper and the others make their own creations with these supplies.

House Mouse stamps are a challenge to me! They are so detailed that they are bit intimidating. Here's a card I CASE'd from Toni who is such a major talented stamper - she's on the Design Team for My Favorite Things and The Cat's Pajama's. I could only dream of being good enough to be on a design team! I hope you like it and Toni, I hope I did you proud.

I used chocolate chip (is there any other color??) as my base. The front pocket was covered with the great decorative paper the November hostess sent along. The image is House Mouse and this stamp is so sweet, it's bound to make anyone feeling a bit under the weather a little better. I used my tag punch and then using a part of the dots stamp from the oval borders from Paper Trey Ink added a bit of detail. The pull out card has a get well message that I wrote. Finishing it off with ribbon since we know I've got a TON of it!!

I hope you enjoy it!

And yes, I've asked Santa for a new camera that has a close up mode on it.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

I recently hosted a Snowman Card swap and boy was it a success!! I am sooo happy with everyone's cards. It's obvious that everyone worked very hard on their cards. I want to share the card I made with you.

My base, of course, is Whisper White. The next layer is this beautiful color Bazzil cardstock that I have no idea what the color is. The image is Penny Black. I put only about half the cardstock in the snowflakes Cuttlebug embossing folder and ran that through. I used my Coluzzle envelope template to scallop the edge. I stamped the image on Whisper White with Staz-On black then used my prismacolor pencils and gamsol. I matted it on this paper from Creative Memories that I have had for a long time. I loved the pink. Then before I assembled the card, I lightly rubbed Lumiere pearly paint over the snowflakes. Then I used Everyday Flexible Phrases and the word window punch to create the greeting. I topped it off with this great ribbon from my ribbon shopping spree.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

I know, I know. I'm late. This has been a very difficult decision! Jami, you helped me remember when I was at Beach Court Elementary School, how we got to dress in our costumes and have parties and parade around the school grounds... I haven't thought about that in years!! Karin, of course I remember the fish stew! Do you remember when Mom tried to make a cheese souffle and it was just as salty as Theresa's icing!!! Jan, my heart goes out to and your fond memories of your Boo. Laurie - the birth of your baby... all your stories were quite touching. So the only way this could be done is by writing down names and randomly drawing from hat!

And the winner is.... Jodene!! Congratulations!!!! Please email me your address so I can send you your candy. My email is stampedbym@yahoo.com

Stay tuned - there are still plenty of chances for blog candy. In fact, everyone else that commented for blog candy, please email me your address so I can send you a little something. Everyone except Karin. I already know your address!!

Monday, October 29, 2007

OK - I have tried for a couple of days to get this picture of the blog candy posted and for some reason it's not wanted to work. Today, it finally does!!

Ready for Trick or Treating? The trick: Post your favorite childhood Halloween story by 10 pm (EST). The treat: everything you see in the picture (except the paper I used to cover up my printer and use as a backdrop) - you get 4 pieces (6x6) of the really adorable decorative paper, a package of Prima's mini-me's, a package of flower shaped tacks, 3 packages of ribbon (from my trip to the ribbon outlet) and last but not least, a new See D's by Inque Boutique stamp set. This stamp set is so cute!! Also, I'll include a card I made with this set (I got me one, too!).

After I've read all the posts on Thursday 11/1, me and a friend will pick the best story and will post on Friday the winner of the blog candy.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

I bought this really cute stamp set at Memory Lane, they are now carrying stamps by Inque Boutique. They are very inexpensive and some very hip designs. I only bought one to test drive and this is the card I came up with. I'm sooo glad that she's going to have the store open tomorrow for a crop, 'cause I get to go in and shop! I'm going to feature Inque Boutique for the blog candy. I hope you like it.

The details: Creamy Caramel served as the base of my card, with Chocolate Chip as an accent and this really great color paper that I picked up at Memory Lane last week that I used for a Pumpkin Roll recipe card. The stamp set is See D's Chai Latte. I also used Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls embossing folder. Oh, you can't see it, but I also used Canvas background stamp on the lower part of the card. Ink color used was Close to Cocoa.

And wow! 3 posts in 2 days!! Are you proud? Look for blog candy in a day or two!

I decided a few weeks ago that I absolutely needed to go the ribbon outlet in Hagerstown. I called my Mom up and we headed out there after Hollyanne's dance class this morning. Would you like to see what I got for $5?

Yes! I seriously got ALL this ribbon for five bucks! They had bins that were marked "fill a bag for .99 cents" (I got 14 spools, they didn't have a great selection) - they had other spools marked down to .50 cents (I got 2) and then I found the reason why the gas is worth spending on going there... the .25 cents a bag ribbon. I grabbed 12 bags of ribbon for $3.00!! And let me tell ya! These bags are quart size storage ziplocs FULL of ribbon!! I am so doing the happy dance!!

Yes, I'll share. Some of all this yummy ribbon will be part of the blog candy. Stay tuned, I'm shopping at Memory Lane tomorrow for the goodies.

Friday, October 26, 2007

I've been tagged by Toners! Thank you Toni, I've always wanted to be tagged, but I have no idea what to do with it.1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself (on your blog, we all want to know them).3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.4. Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.Moved to the Mountains

1. I've always wanted to jump out of airplane, but I have to be gauranteed the parachute will work.2. One of my places to visit before I die is Greece.3. A favorite snack is pretzels dipped in spicy brown mustard.4. I'm from Colorado, but I hate the very idea of skiing.5. I met William Shatner when I was 15. (can you tell I'm running out of material?)6. My favorite ice cream flavor is Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby.7. My favorite spot in Italy is a place called Cuomo Caves.

Who will I tag? My goodness, do I know that many blogs?JillabellaCheriAridgMariaHeidiI blew it already, I don't know 7 blogs to tag. We'll have to go with my 5.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

We recently purchased a house and my kids have totally been bugging me to get a dog. We lost our last one about a year and half ago. She decided to yank her head hard enough to get out of her collar and go prancing with deer. We searched for a long time and decided it was hopeless. After that, I said we weren't getting any more. We seem to have such horrible luck... either the dog turns out to just be mean to the kids or we lose it. -- But my friend Judy told me about a lady that her dog had puppies (Shihtzu and Pomeranian mix) 8 weeks ago. She went there last night and said these puppies were being kept outside on a property that looked like it was the setting of a horror movie! The puppies were covered in fleas. Well, she brought me a little girl today and my heart just melted! So, she's coming home with me. I think I'm going to name her Edith, but I'm toying with the idea of Cashew. We'll see what the family says about it.

Here she is:

Is she not the most adorable puppy you've ever seen!

OK - I have to go visit my friend Laura at Memory Lane to get the blog candy together, but I still haven't taken that test drive. It's coming though...

PS - I had trouble posting this earlier - she's home now and the kids totally fell in love. My daughter cried! They've named her Bunny because she doesn't run in the grass, she hops.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Good Morning! It's almost 6 am and I'm doing everything I shouldn't be doing and nothing that I should be. I shouldn't be playing on the computer while is hair is air drying into a super ugh! state.

I wanted to share the other spot that I took in Vanessa's embellishment swap. This was for the flower spot. OK, I'm not one to get all into the In Color colors from Stampin' Up! - I don't keep discontinued stamps sets, so I didn't allow myself to get into these colors because they are going away soon. But my friend Judy LOVES them. She buys them and stocks up, so that gives me the advantage to play with no commitment. So, I just HAD to play with the Soft Sky color. I love this color. And it matched perfectly with the Prima Sprites, too. Tell me what you think.

I used Whisper White for the base. Soft Sky ink for the swirls and the double line circle on the inside of the small scallop circle. The swirls are by Autumn Leaves and the double line circle is from PaperTrey Ink. Then I used my Prima Sprites and Got Flowers flowers for the focal point. I also used the awesome square bling brads my sister sent me and a small blue brad in the small white flower. I used Soft Sky card stock for the strip - I ran it through the D'vine Swirls Cuttlebug embossing folder and for the larger scallop circle I used Soft Soft decorative paper. This card is without sentiment, but I think it is so romantic. Very feminine. I hope you like it.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Hi! Happy Sunday. It's a gorgeous day here in West Virginia. The leaves are turning wonderful shades of yellow, orange and red!

OK - the latest swap (due) was hosted by Vanessa. She did a favorite embellishment swap, where you use your flowers, ribbons, brads, glitter, etc. I took it to mean that the embellishment should serve as the focal point. After failing miserably on trying to make the ribbon my main focus, I went with making it a great accent. I love blue and chocolate brown together! It's been my color combo of choice lately! Here's the card I created. BTW, this is my creative fold of choice lately, too. I hope you like this card as much as I do.

I used chocolate chip as the base and bashful blue. Take Three is a set I've had for a year and it's hardly seen ink! Then I used a real vintage tool! I got out my Clouds decorative edge scissors - and this awesome edge came quite by accident. I cut my cardstock crooked! So I used those scissors and viola! fixed and it looks great!! I used diamond stickles for the flower centers. Then finally the embellishment. I used this super yummy, so rich chocolate satin ribbon. I love it! I am definitely going to have to buy more!!! I originally bought it to do some decorative thing with my bath towels in my bathroom. The ribbon hasn't see a towel yet.

OK - y'all... blog candy. I mentioned it and I haven't forgotten about it. I've put it on the back burner for a moment. I've seen something new (new to me) and I'm giving it a test drive. If I like it, I'll be sharing it. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

OK - I said a while back that I'd share the third card I sent in for Jen's Penny Black swap. I love this card - I love the sentiment! Let me know what you think!

This is the front of the card using only one image (blocked off) from Ecarte, Splits, Piroutte - one of my favorite Penny Black stamps! And since I can't stop playing with the scallop punches, they of course had to be on there and lots and lots of stickles.

Here's the inside view and I love this sentiment. I think this is how everyone should approach life. I actually blocked off the rest of the sentiment - it says "Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching." It's a Stampabilities stamp.

I also learned that I colored my hedgies incorrectly. I made them brown - hedgies are black quilled little creatures with white tummies. So, these are my hedgies who visited the tanning bed!

I will be getting a new camera very soon! I am so excited. Finally some decent pictures!!!

Thursday, October 4, 2007

How have you all been? I've been in such a creative slump lately. But I think I've just changed it! Tell me what you think. I made this for the Penny Black or Stamping Bella mini-notebook swap I'm hosting. I did a 3 plus 1 and the plus 1 I asked to be Halloween related. I haven't designed that one yet, but I've got some ideas running through my head. 'Bout time!

I used my new Soft Sky decorative paper, Soft Sky card stock, blue Prima Sprites, and the PaperTrey Ink stamps that my sister sent me for my birthday. I also used prismacolor pencils and gamsol. Please leave comments!! I love to hear from you.

OK - I'm considering blog candy. I'm not sure what to give though. But I think it just might have to do with the upcoming, very cool event... WORLD CARD MAKING DAY! Can you believe it! A whole dedicated to making cards!! What a great way to spend a day. I know I want to be working on my swaps! I still have 5 due this month and designs are mapping well, but aren't coming out on the actual project as expected. If I did do blog candy, what would you want to get? How about a card kit... card stock, a stamp, some ribbon and flowers. Hmmm....

Sunday, September 30, 2007

I decided I needed another entry on the blog... I've not had a whole lot of creative mojo going for me this whole weekend and that's not good since I've got 5 swaps due this month! I'm hosting a recipe swap with the ladies I work with, so I need to work on my two spots for that - fortunately one of them is designed but I haven't thought of the other one. Then I have a Christmas cookie swap due and I bought this way gorgeous paper by Basic Grey and now I can't remember what I was going to do with it. I still need to make my notebooks for the swap I'm hosting. I've got it thought out, just nothing made!

Anyway, earlier this year I hosted a Bella swap and I had approximately 50 participants. I made each participant a card (you saw one on an earlier posting - Bellarina with the pink glittery tutu) and those that took multiple spots I, of course had to do different designs. This is one of the cards that I did. I love how it turned out! Brocade Blue is one of my favorite blues and the black card stock really allowed the detail of the Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls show up. I used my Brocade Blue marker to color her dress and then I used a silver gel pen to highlight the flowers. I colored her wings with Bashful Blue and then I used holographic highlights embossing powder to make the wings sparkly. I used my Coluzzle envelope template to create the scallop edge and then finished it off with a bit of bling. I hope you like it.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

With the beginning of October fast approaching, it brings to mind many things... cooler nights, apple harvest and more vibrant colors of Fall. But one color that is becoming more equated to October is pink.

Think pink! You'll see it everywhere. Don't become complacent to the color... don't roll your eyes... don't ever say "it won't happen to me." We are women, we are mothers, sisters, aunts, daughters and Breast Cancer will hit 1 in 8 women this year alone. Early detection has a 97% survival rate. Do those self-exams, get your mammogram done. It's so important. (BTW, these are numbers I have heard, they are not confirmed. For more accurate statistics, please visit the American Cancer Society website or talk to your doctor.)

Someone very near and dear to me was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, in fact she just had the lump removed yesterday. For her, she caught it in time. For this I am so thankful. During my wait to hear how her surgery went, I was surfing SCS (as always) and I came across a swap for Breast Cancer Awareness - it's due October 5th, so not a lot of time to get cards made, but I signed up anyway. I'm sharing with you the card I made for this swap. I hope you like it. I CASE'd the layout from a snowman card that was submitted in the swap I'm hosting. I absolutely love this and I hope you do, too. I used Kraft card stock as my base. I love Kraft with Pretty in Pink. I used the word "hope" from a retired set (Wonderful Words II) and I used my SU! scallop punch and these wonderful little crystal brads my sister sent me. I also used Swirls stamps by Autumn Leaves. I feel my card is very soft and feminine and I love the creative fold.

I hope that you will hear my call to take care of your parts - you are most important to someone. Whether it be your children, your spouse, family or friends.

There's not a lot of time to participate in the swap, but there's a whole month to make a card to send to a special woman in your life to remind her how important she is to you.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

As you all know, my blog has become the ramblings of a mad swapper. I signed up to participate in a Penny Black card swap and I took two spots. Two sets of cards. I shared one a while ago, the card that has the adorable hedgie chatting with a worm. I haven't shared the other spot I did, I will soon. But anyway, Jen the hostess, desperately needed the last spot filled and guess what! I took it. I decided it'd be fun to have the swap return to my friend Judy. She adores PB stamps, too. So I borrowed a stamp from her and this is what I came up with...

I used Chocolate Chip card stock as my base, I stamped it with the flourish stamp from Priceless. The tab I created using my tab punch and a stamp from Totally Tabs and "friend" is from Everyday Flexible Phrases. Next the decorative paper is Tres Jolie that I got out of the clearance bins when Sari and I went to Recollections. The stamp is Penny Black Sunshine Hedge! and is such an awesome image. Judy used it to make me a birthday card. Sooo cute!! I used my prismacolor pencils and Gamsol to color. Oh and just a touch of dark olive green grosgrain ribbon. I hope you like it. I hope Judy likes it!!

OK - off to get ready for the stamp camp. Stay tuned and I'll upload the photos of the finished project later. I think you'll like it!!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

My, has September flown by or what!! I hadn't really realized that I'd neglected my blog until one of my faithful readers made a comment about missing my blog!

Do you want to hear me ramble on or would you just like me to jump right into the latest project? Haha! Speaking of projects, I don't know how long ago I promised to have a sample of my paper bag recipe album put on the blog. I haven't done it yet. And I have a good reason. I finally received my order of the new tasty paper from the Holiday Mini called Apple Cider. I wanted to put up exactly what we'd be making, instead of a sample. If you want to make one yourself, join me on Saturday (1pm to 4pm) for the stamp camp. Laura, for you, we'll set you up after the store closes! *hint, hint*

Anyway, so I nominated a couple of really awesome SCS hostesses to honor and I've been making things, buying goodies, and I needed a card to make. I'm not going to tell which hostess this is for because she might be a reader and not a commentor on the blog. She'll figure me out after she gets the package. So I made this card for her. I tried scanning since it's night-time and not the best time for picture taking. I hope you like it. As always, I love your comments.

I used Very Vanilla for my base, then I used this really cool paper from a mat pack that I either received from a secret girlfriend gift or from another friend. Yipes! I can't remember. But it's a 4x6 K&Company Designer Mat Pad - these are so cool... double sided, so I used the design for one layer and the solid for the other layer. I used Oh, So Lovely stamp set and my prismacolors and gamsol to color. I can understand why this is the coloring method of choice of my sister's. The colors blend out so nice.

OK, so don't forget the stamp camp if you're in the area. I'd love to have you join me.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

It's about 6:15 a.m. and I'm doing my daily routine... get up, shower, dress, get my son up and then come to the computer to check my email and SCS. I was also reviewing my weekend and it seems the more I tried to get done around the house, the less I accomplished. It puts into mind a stamp I saw while wading thru a ton of sentiments for my sister on the Whipper Snapper website. I'm not sure what image you'd put with this saying, but it goes:

Housecleaning with children around is like stapling jell-o to a tree.

LOL! I think that is so funny and so true. My kids are 12, 9 and 8 and I don't know how I managed when they were little guys. Now they are old enough to help and they still get underfoot. And honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

I love Fall. I love the cool, crisp mornings, the warm afternoons and the chill in the evenings that make me want to cuddle under a blanket with a good book and cup of hot tea. The colors are so amazing here in West Virginia. As some of you know, I am a Colorado native and my heart will always be there. The changing of the Aspens is so spectacular - but then we moved to WV and the colors are truly amazing. The golds, reds and oranges are so vibrant! This is a picture I took in our old neighborhood. I am sure it doesn't capture the beauty I am describing to you.

I also have a card to share with you. This is my very first House Mouse card. Of course I bought my stamp from the "mean, old nasty Dick" at HM Stamps! Haha! He signed one of his recent email to his customers that way and I'm sure it made everyone laugh, because I don't think he could pull off mean and nasty with any amount of effort. Great guy, great customer service.

This is for a swap that is due soon, I just finished it. Tell me what you think. Oh, and I think my picture is better, lighting wise - it's fuzzy but I had already shared that my particular model of Kodak EasyShare doesn't have a close up mode. Let me know what think!! I likey those comments!!

I used House Mouse cater-mouse, I colored him with my Stampin' Markers (Kimmie, are you proud?), I had to try the Cami's Trifold Card that Kimmie featured on her blog recently and I found the tutorial on SCS. My paper is from SEI (love their products)! I also used the Marvy Giga Scalloped circle punch, or is that Mega - whichever one is bigger, and my Coluzzle circle template.

I do wish the picture was clearer for you to see this adorable little guy - including his icky fingers and toes. I had a lot of fun making this card. I hope you like it, too.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

I hope all of you are well. I decided to share a card, that of course the picture doesn't do it justice at all, because soon it'll be time to take Hollyanne back to dance class. She loves it! But she's also discovering another sport that she loves equally well. TaeKwon Do. (hmmm, maybe Em needs to make Martialartsabella) So begins the running!!

Anyway, about the card... I used my Cuttlebug Thanks embossing folder the for "How Thoughtful" sentiment. Her beautiful dress is actually pink with Hologram Highlights over top to give her sparkle. I also used my Coluzzle envelope template to create the wavy edge.

She's sweet, isn't she! She was my first Bella... now 14 or so later... I still think she's my fav!!

A word about my pictures. I discovered I need to work on purchasing a new a camera! My camera is incapable of taking close up shots! Urrrrgh!! This one is scanned, and I'll think I'll stick with that method even though it still doesn't give me the sharpness I desire.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

I am hosting a Snowman card swap on SCS. If anyone is interested in joining, go here. I'd love to see you there! Do you like my card? Are they not the "coolest" couple you have ever seen!!

Be kind, my photography leaves a lot to be desired!! This is the front of the card. I used Bashful Blue for the scallop and the background paper is from SU! 4 seasons paper pack.

Here's the inside of the card:

I am a complete snowman freak and when I saw this adorable Penny Black stamp sitting in the display case at Studio Art and still had a little birthday money to spend, well, I just knew they wanted to come with me. Want to see another way cute snowman card? Actually a new blog pal, Heidi posted two cards that are just way adorable. Visit Heidi's blog - just click on her name or go to the sidebar where I list some of my favorite sites and blogs.

I promise, I will get some lessons on how to take better photographs of my cards. I really think it's because the lighting is HORRIBLE in my craft room. I understand it's better to take pictures outside, but it's almost 10 pm. Not a good time for photos! I will get better. Any tips you can share with me, I would surely appreciate it!

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Help me! I'm sitting here at my table trying to work on my Basic Grey 12x12 page for a swap. I am all over this totally yummy paper from the Infuse collection and it's so beautiful but my mind is so small today that I can't come up with a darn thing to do with it!! I thought I had an idea and then *POOF!* out of my head it went.

What am I going to share with you today? My creative juices are following like Jell-O right now. Hmm - maybe an older project. Oh! Did you hear about Stampin' Up! latest offer? It has something to do with that lovely new punch box and 3x3 cards! OK, so it really goes like this... purchase the Three for You punch box the features a new punch, 3 ink spots Basic Black and the new In Color colors Purely Pomegranate and Wild Wasabe, and a 9-piece die-cut coordinating stamp set and you'll receive a package of 30 textured love notes FREE! Pretty awesome, eh? Here's the catch, there's not much time left for this offer. Ends in 2 weeks! Why do I mention this offer? I love 3x3 cards. They are sooo much fun. Here's one I made for a swap I participated in months ago. This one features a Bella, but you get the idea. These are great for gift tags, or to insert in a card fork-holder in a flower arrangement. I hope you like it!!

This picture doesn't do this beauty justice, but her wings are sparkly, her flowers are silver and a wand that dazzles!!

Oh, one other tidbit to share... I'm thinking of hosting a snowman card swap. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE snowmen and I picked up a Penny Black snowman couple stamp on Friday. Too cute. I need to play that stamp and what better way to do than with a card swap.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Did you see I added a visitor counter? I'm up to 50. That's neat! I wish everyone would leave a comment, but then it occurred to me maybe its a few of the same people who are coming back to see an update. I best not disappoint! (The spelling looks funny.)

How about a recipe page I made for a drink swap I participated in a few months ago. It isn't the best representation of the lovely pink card stock I used for the letters and the mat for Cosmobella. I love the base of the recipe. This paper was so fun and funky and fit Cosmobella to a T! Don't you agree? I also used my beloved Cherish Sizzlets font. They are a pain to work with, that is until my sister came to the rescue with a great tip. She said to cut your letters out and then place them on the table how you want them to be on your project. Then take removable tape and stick over top of your letters. Turn them over and using a Quickie Glue pen or Zig glue fine tip glue pen, put glue on your letters. Turn over onto your project, press down and lift off the tape. Viola'! Perfect placement and no sticky Xyron boogers to clean up!! (Don't misunderstand, I love my Xyron machines, I have 4 of them myself, I just don't like the gooey residue that's left around the sides of the letters.)

I'm not a huge fan of the drink, but my sister is, so I made this with happy thoughts of her!!

Thursday, August 9, 2007

I just had a birthday and I received an awesome gift from my sister and myself. My sister gave me two Bellas and this set of templates by Chatter Box called Doodle Genies. This one is called Whimsical (background). I gave myself a CTMH set that I have been drooling over for months and I finally bought it. It's called Alfresco. So I just had to try these out tonight and I needed something new for the blog. I used only Brocade Blue ink & ribbon and Very Vanilla card stock. The result, something so fitting for both a guy or a girl. I am really liking this!

Let me know what you think. I love, love, love comments.

Also, check out of my list favorites. I've added a few more blogs for you to go look at. More ideas, more thoughts.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

I've added a photo of me. Yipes!! They said black was slimming, it's not working for my face! Anyway, I will put a better photo on here now that I have had my hair cut and my eyebrows waxed. I used this photo for an ATC Swap that I was in. I can't wait to get those back!

I know, I know. My blog looks different again! I'm still trying to find myself... I want the blog to reflect who I am... the colors that make me happy... and since I change on a day to day basis, so should my blog. Right? I promise though, once I find the right background - it'll never change again. I hope you like this one. I like the colors.

I have been very busy working on swaps! I have my monthly recipe swaps just about done for the swap I do with the ladies at work. I have my Penny Black card designed for the swap that my sister talked me into doing. I also just about have my recipes done for two other swaps, too! I still have to design my monthly card swap that I am co-hosting with my Canadian pal Erika. I've had my paper picked out for a month. I need to sit and play with it.

No pictures for this post. I just wanted to get August rolling. Hope you all are doing great! I am having such a ball with this blog, and swapping, and stamping, and walking every night. I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed me with all that He has. Great kids, a now-healthy marriage, awesome friends, my Mom and most of all my sisters! My sisters are my bestest friends in the whole wide world.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Hi all! I'm back from the crop and no I did not come up with anything fantabulous with my Priceless stamp set. However, I did create a really cute recipe card for my make-n-take using Doodle This... way cute stamp set. Anyway, my recipe was Caramel Snack Mix and boy was it ever yummy! I think everyone enjoyed the make-n-take and the fact that they got to eat it (sort of), too, it was a hit. Yes, my make-n-take was 6x6 recipe card for the Caramel Snack Mix.

I even broke down and bought a CTMH stamp set that I've been wanting for a very long time. It'll get here in time for my birthday.

I met the nicest people today... Ralph from Crop til-ya Drop, a scrapbook store in Frederick brought a portion of his (and his wife's) store. He had my absolute favorite Basic Grey Infuse paper! He introduced me to QuicKutz Revolution. Neat machine. I bought a die. He also had a great make-n-take that his wife designed. Do you like it?? I can't remember the name of the die... Circles maybe? I really liked it, but I bought the other one. I also used QK acrylic stamps, too. You can't really see the scrolls of the stamps, they were stamped with VersaMark. Very nice idea.

Ralph, are you proud? (He said he'd visit my blog.)

OK - well, I was going to continue working on my swaps... but I'm starting to get rather sleepy. I think I'll finish putting stuff away and then hit the sack!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend! Thanks for visiting me. By the way, I think I'm going to change the name of my blog. The Ramblings of a Mad Swapper! What do you think? LOL

Thursday, July 26, 2007

I'm working on some projects tonight to get ready to vend at an all day crop. So far all I've managed to get done is pay some bills (finally!). I have gotten so bad about sitting down every week to write out the checks I know I have to get in the mail! Oh well, it's done and nothing is late... yet.

OK so I'm staring at one my new sets of stamps that I just got from Stampin' Up! and I'm so totally in love with this set that I'm afraid to get it dirty. Is that silly or what! But, I plan to create a 12x12 page class kit using this wonderful stamp set. Oh! I didn't tell you the name, silly me! It's called Priceless. Have you seen it? If not, check this out!!

Is this not the cutest stamp set you've ever seen!

It's so trendy and so sweet. It's going to fit in just about everywhere I want to put it... except maybe a major boy page.

Anyway, so I'm trying to come up with a simple, yet very impressive page that will have people booking lots of parties! I'll post later to let you see what I've come up with.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Hello everyone. It's been a few days since I've posted on here. It hasn't been a very productive week for me. I've just got so much going on that I've spread myself out too thin, I just wish all this thinning would show up on my backside!!

Anyway, so I got myself a new dry erase board for my wall. I decided I need something visual in front of me so I can keep my committments fresh in my head. Well, I listed all my swaps and my list covers 1/3 of the board. I am sooo addicted to these swaps. I can't get enough. Even when my husband sees me on SCS, he says "no more swaps!" Haha!

I'm hosting one for the ladies at work. A 6x6 recipe card swap that has been a lot of fun. This is my one of my favorite recipe cards I've made. I love the scallop punches and I've had way too much fun using them. Let me know what you think.

My sister even ordered the QK strawberry special for me to use on my page. She is so good to me. The swirls are from the retired Delight in Life. Nope, it's not made it the "to be sold" box yet. It sits on my table - it's getting used. The button came in a Secret Girlfriend box and I decided I needed to use what I was receiving instead of hoarding. I hope you like it!

Oh, one more note about swaps... I'll be co-hosting a 6-month committment card swap like the one described below with the Musicabella card. If you're interested and want more details, please email me or PM me. Have a wonderful day!!

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

This is a card I made for a SCS card swap. What fun this was... we had to stamp a Bella image and send enough images and decorative paper for 6 cards that someone else is to make. Stephanie sent me Musicbella and this gorgeous paper. This was a real challenge for me since I'm not musically inclined, so wasn't real interested in getting this stamp. Now I love her! She's too cute!!

I hope you like it!

Hey, is the scan better? I backed the white card with a darker color so you can actually see the cards edge. I hope you can see all the details.

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Is this just the cutest picture you've ever seen? I love this picture of my sweet Grandma.

This gorgeous page was made by my sister Karin and it's just awesome!! The colors have so much Latin flair and all the different punches she used to give it texture and life. The lettering is a combination of stamping with paint and chipboard letters.

The picture is of my grandma, Josephine Gonzales, taken at (Karin correct me if I'm wrong) the nursing home she resided in until she passed away. I believe it was a Cinco de Mayo celebration, so they served Mexican dishes outside and Grandma put on her sunglasses and sombrero and joined in the celebration.

We miss our Grandma so much, but looking at photos like these - you have to smile through the tears!

These pages, I also created to display in my local LSS. I love these pages. These are my husband's grandparents. Edna moved on to be with our Lord in Heaven about 12 years ago, and George followed her a couple of years ago. I wish I could remember the name of the papers I chose for these pages, but I also used chipboard letters and covered them and primas. It also features Fabulous Flourishes (retired) stamped with Gold Archival ink.

George's page - I love the simplicity of it. I used Sizzix Cherish font and photo turns.

I'm not the best photographer - but I am attempting to add some photos on here of scrapbook pages I've made. It was a request... so here you go uggentoo (did I spell that right?)

I made this layout to feature on a wall in my LSS, these are my boys - about 2 years ago now - and I absolutely love this page. This photo shows who they are: sweet, loving with a dash (OK, a lot of dashes) of mischieviousness. I also saw in a magazine where the layout did the journaling as bullet points and I really liked that.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

OK, someday I'm going to learn how to scan my projects so that the pictures are better.

I'm sitting here in my craft room working on 3 different projects - wishing I could get one done and I think to myself, hey, it's the 4th of July - I should post something to honor the holiday Melissa style. I also had Delight in Life sitting on my table needing to go into the "to be sold" box and so I figure I'll just use it. This is what I came up with in about 5 minutes. What do you think? I'm giving it to our neighbors. I hope they like it.

I hope you all have a safe holiday. Enjoy the fireworks and cookouts but be safe. I want happy stampers!!

I removed a previously posted picture of this adorable hedgie because I did not get permission to publish my sisters card - for that I humbly apologize.

I did make this card - my sister Karin sent me some stamped images of this adorable Penny Black image and I made this card to send to my friend's little boy who recently had surgery. I'm popping this into the mail to him tomorrow. I hear he's doing very well and is loving all the happy mail he's getting!

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

The beautiful new Fall-Winter Idea Book & Catalog is available!! I finally got my copy in the mail last night, I looked through it 3 times!! It's wonderful, the ideas are fresh and very trendy. There are many new On Board items that are fun, fun, fun. New shapes, clipboards to alter and the new decorative paper options - the possibilities are limitless!!

Saturday, June 30, 2007

You know, I figured that since I'm a SU! demonstrator, my cards would never be anything else but SU! stuff. I love, love, love my SU! stuff (and I still haven't gotten my new catalogs!!!) but since my sister turned me onto these Bellas - that's where a lot of my creativity is coming from.

I made this card using Cakebella (stampingbella.com) to share in a swap I hosted. I love primas and stickles, so those were added to. And I've already mentioned how much I love my Cuttlebug, so it's used here, too. It's a favorites card!!!

I hope you like it.

And thank you to the ladies that have visited my blog. Thanks for helping me kick this off.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

This picture isn't all that great, but it was my attempt at an Irish Twist. I love Primas and I love, love, love my Cuttlebug. I used two different embossing folders for this one card. An A2 folder called Blooms and Dots and then a little set of Thank You 2x2 embossing folders. This was a lot of fun - and no, not a Melissa original. I CASE'd it.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

I made this for a mini notebook swap that I am participating in. I used Emmybella by Stamping Bella. I just love these gals! They are so fun, so funky... it's like playing with Barbies, stamping style!

Hi and welcome to my blog. I am hopeful that I will be able to share some great ideas with you and you'll leave your comments, too! As I get into this, I hope to bring you blog candy and contests and other fun things. Thanks for stopping by.

Use coupon code: STMMMS93171

About Me

I am a mother of 3 amazing young adults! I am a proud momma of a Navy Sailor, a 2nd year college student and a boy entering college soon. In my spare time, I love to cook, read, stamp and make 3D paper projects. I've been a papercrafter for 22+ years and I love every minute of it. I decided I didn't have enough to do, so I also "own" a challenge blog, Tuesday Morning Sketches.
If you need to reach me, please feel free to email me at stampedbym@gmail.com

Copyright 2006-2018

All cards, scrapbook pages, photographs and text are owned by Melissa Craig. I have created the cards and pages with copyrighted material (Papertrey Ink, DRS Designs, MFT Stamps, Hero Arts and many others) and are for personal use only. I share these ideas with you, you are free to CASE the cards but ask that you do not submit for contests or publication. Also, please give credit where credit is due. If you CASE something of mine, please tell others where you got the idea. Thanks!! Happy Stamping and inky hugs.